Pupils from two primary schools stepped into the exciting world of television at Discovery Channel on Friday after their classmates scooped first prize in a national Roald Dahl competition.

Alfie Richards, 9, from Irthlingborough Junior School in Wellingborough, and Raiya Mann, 7, from Glendower Prep School in London were the winners of Discovery Education’s Sweet Inventions Competition, which encouraged children to step into the shoes of Willy Wonka by inventing their own sweets. The competition was held to mark the centenary of author Roald Dahl’s birth, and attracted thousands of entries from across the UK.

Irthlingborough pupil Alfie impressed judges with his design for ‘Magi-Choc’, a magical chocolate bar which changes shape and colour, while Glendower Prep’s Raiya created ‘Marvellous Morphing Melties’ – magical sweets which can make children shrink and grow in size.

As part of their prize the pupils and their classmates were whisked to Discovery Channel HQ in London where they visited the home of some of the world’s most famous TV shows. The children also enjoyed a fun afternoon of Roald Dahl themed activities, including decorating Charlie and the Chocolate Factory sweet wrappers and making Fantastic Mr Fox doughnuts with Discovery’s own Head Chef.

Alfie and Raiya’s winning designs will form part of a special exhibition at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Buckinghamshire later this year. The talented pupils took time out from their prize day to work with a professional designer, and see their artwork turned into posters ready for the show.

Alfie said:

“I was excited to see what it would be like inside Discovery Channel, and to take part in the different Roald Dahl activities – especially making the doughnuts! I like Roald Dahl’s books because they are really imaginative. James and the Giant Peach is my favourite.”

Raiya said:

“I was excited to come to the Discovery Channel and learn about the different types of programmes they make here. Roald Dahl is my favourite author so I was proud to win the competition. His characters are very funny. My favourite book is George’s Marvellous Medicine and I like making potions of my own at home!”

“Roald Dahl is one of our best-loved children’s authors, and we were delighted with the response to our competition. It was lovely to welcome Alfie, Raiya and their classmates to Discovery HQ to experience the magical world of broadcasting and see their sweet inventions brought to life.”

Over 2600 pupils took part in the Sweet Inventions Competition, which was launched in September last year alongside new resources in Discovery Education Espresso’s award-winning digital learning service. Created in partnership with the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Buckinghamshire, the new multi-media content includes e-books, interactive games and videos, bringing Dahl’s work to life for a new generation of learners.

The Roald Dahl module is available now to schools with a Discovery Education Espresso subscription. With content closely aligned to the National Curriculum, the module supports the teaching and learning of Key Stage 2 English Objectives. Schools interested in a free trial of the Discovery Education Espresso service can request one here.